By Phil Bourjaily

I should have been easy to spot sitting at the water’s edge on a marsh stool, black shotgun in my lap. And, if I had only been wearing regular camo (right) I would have been easily recognizable as a duck hunter. In an Avery Killer Ghillie suit (left) I looked like a harmless clump of weeds.

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By David E. Petzal

I spent the past week in Kansas, a place of very little culture but very many whitetail deer, which is a better reason to go someplace than culture. I was hunting out of elevated blinds with a friend who is a highly experienced hunter and a very good spotter of cloven-hoofed ungulates. Each of us had a laser rangefinder. Mine was in my binocular; his was separate.

What we noticed pretty quickly was that neither rangefinder ever agreed…ever. Sometimes the difference was only a few yards, but sometimes it was 50 yards or more. In addition, my rangefinder also gave Weird Readings. It would say that a deer was 152 yards away when it was perfectly obvious the beast was way over 300. This may have been caused by fog, which we had, or by the beam bouncing off weeds and brush that I couldn’t see but which the laser could. It was, as Richard Pryor used to say, a nerve-shattering experience.

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By Chad Love

Have you ever had a moment with your dog that you desperately wanted to capture on camera—a first point, first retrieve, some poignant milestone—and then utterly missed it, either through sheer operator incompetence or equipment failure? It happened to me yesterday morning on a duck hunt, and I'm still kicking myself for it.

Like many other duck hunters in my area, my season has been hampered by a profound lack of huntable water. Almost all the areas I hunt are either bone-dry or so low as to be rendered effectively un-huntable. As a result, the dog's and my duck season has been pretty miserable to this point. Nevertheless, after seeing thousands and thousands of mallards on a recent South Dakota pheasant hunt (more on that in the next blog) and reading about them  I decided to put on my walking shoes (or waders) and go find a spot to hunt on my local reservoir, and low water be damned. A cold front was coming through and I had visions of shooting a few of those 750,000 mallards that were sure to be pouring into the state ahead of it.

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By David E. Petzal

From time to time it is my pleasure to introduce you to people who are both superior craftsmen and artists as well, such as D’Arcy Echols and Ryan Breeding. Now, let me present Mike Malosh, who makes knives in the style of William Scagel, and does his own designs to boot. Mr. Malosh’s creations are called Chaser knives, and he does a number of things that set him apart.

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By Lance Schwartz

2013 Kawasaki Brute Force 300
MSRP: $4,249
Final Thoughts + 2013 Kawasaki Brute Force 300 at a Glance

Americans often get stuck in the mindset that bigger always equals better. If there’s any doubt in the accuracy of that statement, one trip through a drive-through burger joint will set you straight. But size doesn’t always play a factor when it comes to ATVs; take for example, Kawasaki’s Brute Force 300.

This small yet sporty and reliable ATV has plenty of power to do work around the farm, drag deer out of the woods, or keep avid off-road enthusiasts entertained. Throttle-junkies like myself will enjoy the Brute Force 300’s ability to be ridden aggressively. It has great handling—the quality that impressed me the most—and can be easily wheeled through tight trails. [ Read Full Post ]

By Lance Schwartz

2013 Suzuki King Quad 500AXi Power Steering 30th Anniversary Edition
MSRP: $9.099 (EPS model is $8,599)
Final Thoughts + King Quad 500AXi Power Steering 30th Anniversary Edition At a Glance

Suzuki's King Quad 500AXi Power Steering has earned a reputation for being one of the leading mid-size utility machines on the market. The 30th anniversary edition is essentially the same machine; with a Metallic Matte-Royal Red color scheme that fetches a $500 premium. Price aside, I was impressed when I tackled the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Central California with the King Quad 500AXi 30th Anniversary Edition.

The 500AXi is powered by a fuel-injected 493cc liquid-cooled, four-stroke engine that is a clone of the larger 750cc motor—with the exception of using a smaller top end that lowers displacement. Thanks to Suzuki's electronic fuel injection, power delivery is very smooth and the King Quad performed flawlessly, even on a cold morning startup at nearly 10,000 feet. [ Read Full Post ]